1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lock system for locking a glove box itself which is mounted on an instrument panel of a motor vehicle in such a manner as to be opened and closed or an independent lid of the glove box.
2. Description of the Related Art
Although not illustrated specifically, a conventional lock system of this type is made up of a housing which is fixed to a lid side of a glovebox, a latch which is rotatably supported on the housing in such a manner as to be brought into engagement with and disengagement from a striker, a spring for biasing the latch in a direction in which the engagement of the latch with the striker is released, a lock plate with a notched recessed portion which is slidably supported on the housing to control the rotation of the latch, an operation handle having an operation arm on a rear surface thereof, an L-shaped lever which rotates eccentrically by virtue of an operation of a key cylinder, and a connecting rod which connects the lever with the lock plate (refer to, for example, JP-UM-A-2-43368).
Then, in an actual use, when the striker and the latch are in engagement with each other, since a lower end portion of the latch is in abutment with the lock plate against a biasing spring pressure applied thereto by the spring, the glove box or the lid thereof is allowed to remain in a closed state with the latch and the lock plate remaining in the abutment state. When attempting to open the glove box or the lid thereof, a state is firstly realized in which one end portion of the L-shaped lever is made to be positioned below the operation arm of the operation handle by operating the key cylinder, and then, when the operation handle is operated, the one end portion of the lever is pushed downwards by the operation arm, and the lever rotates in a predetermined direction, whereby the lock plate is made to slide by virtue of a tension by the connecting rod, so that the lower end portion of the latch is made to face the notched recessed portion of the lock plate. As a result, the latch is then allowed to rotate in the direction in which the engagement of the latch with the striker is released by virtue of the biasing spring pressure applied to the latch by the spring, whereby the glove box or the lid thereof is opened.